1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a copying apparatus, more particularly to a recording apparatus for electrically reading an original image and reproducing said image through electrical image signals.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are already known recording apparatus capable of overlaying images, in which a predetermined format prepared on an ordinary paper sheet is optically copied and electrically generated image information is simultaneously is synthesized, for example through a laser beam, on a photosensitive drum to obtain a synthesized image output. In such apparatus the predetermined format is stored on an ordinary paper sheet and is therefore inconvenient for storage and handling.
There is also known a process of generating the image data and the format both as electrical signals, electrically synthesizing these two signals and supplying the synthesized signals for example to a laser beam printer for image output. This process, though being more advanced in the control of formats than the process described above, is generally suited for image recording of a large amount and requires a large computer system for the preparation of the image data and the format data. Stated differently, such process is suitable for processing a large amount of information prepared through the use of an expensive memory device such as a magnetic tape device or a disk device. Such image overlay is already employed for example in the on-line high-speed recording apparatus, but is too cumbersome for use in the ordinary office works.